CODESRIA Bulletin Online, No. 13, June 2021 Page 1

Online Article

The Dialectics of Maguphilia and Maguphobia

Grief and relief been brought up on the secular doctrine preached and practised n March 17, 2021, the fifth Issa Shivji by Mwalimu , who president of John Professor Emeritus never stopped reiterating that reli- OJoseph Pombe Magufuli, University of Dar es Salaam gion was a private matter and the aged 61, died a few months after Tanzanian state was secular. Dur- beginning his second term in office. ing the two weeks Magufuli was It was a ‘dramatic’ exit for a person not seen in public, the country was Increasingly the division between who had almost single-handedly awash with rumours, speculation Maguphiles and Maguphobes is (some would say heavy-handedly) and stories spun by spin doctors on surfacing, particularly among par- ruled the country for the preceding Magufuli’s health, the nature of his liamentarians. We may be witness- five years. The reaction of the Tan- disease, and whether or not he was ing a beginning of realignment of zanian populace was as dramatic, alive. Internal detractors and a sec- forces. Popular perception tends to if not extreme. Large sections of tion of the foreign Western press be cynical, justifiably so, for none down-trodden (‘wanyonge’ in Swa- superficially reported and gleefully of the emerging factions resonates hili) people in urban and semi-urban reiterated that Covid-19 had finally with their interests and daily lives. areas were struck with disbelief and caught up with President Magufuli Street wisdom has it that with the grief. Among them were motor-bike who was reputed to be a Covid- change of wind, opportunist politi- taxi drivers (‘bodaboda’), street denier. The then Vice-President cians are positioning themselves to hawkers (‘machinga’), women food Mama gave be on the right side (‘wanajiweka vendors (‘mama Ntilie’) and small heart complications as the cause of sawa’ as the street Swahili goes) of entrepreneurs (‘wajasiriamali’). At the president’s death. It was known the new president. the other end of the spectrum were that the president had a pace-maker. sections of civil society elites, lead- Between February 27, 2021 when It is not necessary for the purposes ers and members of opposition par- he was last seen in public and of this essay to establish what the ties, and a section of non-partisan March 17 when Magufuli’s pass- cause of death of President Magu- intelligentsia who heaved a sigh ing on was officially announced, fuli was. I do not intend to cloud of relief. Barring a few insensitive President Magufuli disappeared my analysis by that debate. opposition political figures in - ex from the public eye. He was not President Magufuli leaves behind ile, most in the middle-class group seen at public functions nor did a controversial legacy. It would be did not openly express or exhibit he attend church services on three intellectually futile to strike a strict their relief, as African culture dic- consecutive Sundays. Magufuli balance between Maguphilia and tates, until after the 21-day mourn- was a practising Catholic and a Maguphobia. That is a lazy way of ing period had passed. In between devout church-goer. He never understanding a political phenome- the extremes were large sections of missed the Sunday Mass nor did non. Drawing up a balance-sheet of politicians and senior functionaries he let go the opportunity to make the good and the bad is an accoun- in the state and the ruling party who political speeches from the pulpit. tant’s job not that of an intellectual continued singing the praises of the This practice distinguished Presi- analyst. Rather it is important to leader while privately keeping track dent Magufuli from his predeces- understand that Magufuli was a po- of the direction of the wind before sors to whom mixing politics with litical phenomenon, not an individ- casting their choice. religion was anathema. They had ual. Magufuli was a local variant of CODESRIA Bulletin Online, No. 13, June 2021 Page 2 populist political leaders who have who stands above classes and social by national unity and as a result emerged recently in a number of struggles. Indeed he even appears he reigned in centrifugal forces. countries of the South. Brazil and to rise above the state. The famous At the time of independence there India are obvious examples. Con- phrase attributed to Louis XIV were three identifiable centres ditions were ripe for the emergence ‘l’etat, c’est moi’, ‘I’m the state’ of power: the army, trade unions of demagogic politicians, partly as sums it all. Bonapartism has arisen and the state. The army mutiny a backlash to neo-liberalism which in historical situations where the of 1964 and the alleged attempt wreaked havoc with the social fab- struggling classes have either ex- by some trade unionists to make ric of the countries in the periphery hausted themselves and there is an common cause with the mutineers and partly because of the resulting apparent vacuum in the body poli- drew home the point that all was polarisation, inequalities and im- tic or the rein of the previous ruler not well and Nyerere’s national poverishment of the working peo- has been so laissez faire that ‘law project was tottering. The mutiny ple and middle classes. Disarmed, and order’ has broken down. The became the occasion to dismantle disillusioned and stripped of all Bonaparte legitimises his crassly the colonial army, ban independent hope, masses yearned for a messi- high-handed actions to return the trade unions and abolish the multi- ah. Populists presented themselves country to order and to rein in fight- party system. Opposition parties as such deliverers. The masses in ing factions in which everyone is then were miniscule without much Tanzania found themselves in this for themselves and the devil takes support but they had the potential state when Magufuli appeared. the hindmost. Liberal institutions to derail the national project, as of ‘bourgeois’ democracy such as Nyerere saw it. Tanzania was the Populist rhetoric varies from coun- parliament and judiciary are either first country in this part of Africa to try to country but invariably it feeds set aside (a fascist option) or ema- rebuild the army from scratch with on heightening racial, religious and ciated of their content (neo-fascist soldiers recruited mainly from the gender differences and exploits authoritarianism). They exist in ruling party’s youth wing. popular prejudices. The Magufuli name only, but go through the ritu- phenomenon was not a deus ex als of elections, law-making and In 1965 a new one-party constitu- machina. To understand it we must ‘judicial decision’ making, which tion providing for a highly cen- locate it in the history and politics means little in practice. tralised executive presidency was of the country and come up with a passed. From then on, the polity correct characterisation. I charac- Unlike much of the rest of Africa, was informed by the centralising terise the Magufuli phenomenon as Tanzania can justifiably boast of a tendency, power being concen- messianic Bonapartism. Before we relatively stable and peaceful pol- trated in the state and the party. dwell further on this, let me say a ity as well as smooth succession In 1968, an independent religious couple of things about Bonapartism from one administration to an- organisation of Muslims, the East as a political phenomenon. other. Julius Nyerere, the founding African Muslim Welfare Society, president, ruled for nearly quar- was banned for fear that it could Bonapartism ter of a century followed by three become an organisational home presidents, each one of whom was for disgruntled Muslim politicians. When classes are weak or have in power for ten years, that is, two The 1967 en- been disarmed ideologically and terms of five years, the term limit shrining the policies of socialism organisationally over a generation, prescribed by the Constitution of and self-reliance saw the nationali- politics suffer from Bonapartist ef- the United Republic of Tanzania, sation of the commanding heights fects. Bonapartism can take differ- 1977. President Magufuli had just of the economy. That lay the basis ent forms depending on the con- entered his second term after the for the rise of parastatals with their crete situation. Quickly, we may general election of October 2020 own spawning bureaucracy. Over a identify the two most relevant to us when he met his death. period of next ten years, relatively – militarist and messianic. Tanzania independent co-operatives were has been saved of the former for The political antecedents abolished and replaced by crop reasons which will become clear in authorities. Independent student, the course of this essay. In the late The driving force during Mwalimu youth, and women’s organisations president we witnessed the latter. Nyerere’s reign was the ideology of nation-building and development. were all brought under the wing Bonapartism is characterised by the Nation-building called for national of the party. Thus the proto-ruling unexpected rise of an individual unity. Nyerere was preoccupied class which could be described CODESRIA Bulletin Online, No. 13, June 2021 Page 3 as a bureaucratic bourgeoisie or led by Zanzibaris to which a few had to attach themselves. Nonethe- state bourgeoisie established its mainlanders aligned. To Nyerere’s less it was on issues – ideological and organisational surprise, the Zanzibari CCM fac- Zanzibar’s membership of the Or- hegemony. By the time Nyerere tion proved to be so formidable that ganisation of Islamic Conference stepped down in 1985, Tanzania it managed to overturn Nyerere’s on its own and Parliament adopting had one of the most formidable preferred choice to succeed him. a resolution to form a state-party machines and it was Government thus changing the highly bureaucratised. In sum, although state structures of union structure from two to three checks and balances were compro- governments – that matters came Four important features of the mised during Nyerere’s time, the to a head. Nyerere was still around. party-state during Nyerere’s time party did act as a check on top lead- He managed to salvage the boat. must be highlighted. One, the ers providing a platform for rela- The boat rocked but did not sink. (CCM) tively free discussions and debates party did function. Its organs had within the party. Throughout this The next president, Benjamin foundations at grassroots level in period, the independence of the ju- Mkapa, was the first to be elected villages and streets. The party op- diciary was respected even though in a multi-party election, scoring a erated through its various organs the judiciary could not play a very majority vote of only 62 per cent, such as party branches, ten-cell or- active role because, one, the consti- demonstrating that the electorate gans and similar organs, at district, tution did not have a bill of rights was getting exhausted with CCM’s regional and national level. At the against which the performance scandals and over-bearing bu- top was the Central Committee and and accountability of the state or- reaucracy. Mkapa, who served as the all-powerful National Execu- gans and officials could be - mea president from 1995 to 2005, can tive Committee (NEC). These or- sured and, two, the law tended to easily be described as the father of gans met regularly and transmitted be very widely worded, giving the neo-liberalism in Tanzania. He pri- their resolutions and proceedings bureaucracy unfettered discretion. vatised national assets, including to higher levels. Two, the army These powers were often abused the national state bank, and steam- was integrated in the party struc- but grievous abuses were relatively rolled through Parliament the min- ture. It constituted a region which rare and, if and when discovered, ing law, opening up that important sent delegates to the NEC and the legal action was taken against the sector to rapacious foreign invest- Congress, just as other regions did. perpetrators. While Nyerere’s re- ment. However, he took a leaf from Three, the party had a clearly spelt gime could arguably be described Nyerere’s book by adhering to par- out philosophy and ideology which as authoritarian it certainly could ty protocols and ensuring that the became the basis for developing not be labelled fascist in any sense party organs met regularly and that its programmes and manifestos. of the word. When some overzeal- there was a semblance of debate Consequently, there was an ideol- ous youth wingers once described in the top party organs. During his ogy and a structure around which Nyerere as a ‘fascist’, Nyerere is term the judiciary became more members could rally and partici- said to have quipped: ‘What would active as a bill of rights had been pate in decision-making. Fourthly, they say if they saw a real one!’ inserted in the constitution in 1984. as a result of these factors, political factions with a clear ideology and The next ten years under President By the end of Mkapa rule, Tanzania politics could not easily crystallise saw the first, was a full-blown neo-liberal state. in or outside the party. If factions albeit hesitant, steps on the road The hardest-hit victims of neo- did emerge, they were temporary to neo-liberalisation. It was during liberalisation, as elsewhere, were and issue-oriented. It was difficult Mwinyi’s term that the leadership the working people, in both urban for them to have medium- or long- code which prevented state and and rural areas. As cost-sharing in term political ambitions. The only party leaders from using their po- education and health took hold and group which did function as a fac- litical office to accumulate personal various subsidies were removed, tion and began to flex its muscles in wealth was lifted. There were also the component of social wage from the last five years of Nyerere’s rule signs of factional struggles within the livelihoods of working people was from Zanzibar. The succes- the party but interestingly it was disappeared, exposing them to the sion saga within the party follow- once again the coherent Zanzibar full rigour of the so-called free ing Nyerere’s announcement that faction which mainlander CCM market. Even lower middle classes he was stepping down was actually leaders with presidential ambitions suffered. If Tanzania was spared of CODESRIA Bulletin Online, No. 13, June 2021 Page 4 bread riots, it was because of the blance of coherence. The check- The rise of a messianic lingering ideological and organisa- and-balance machinery broke Bonaparte tional hegemony of the state-party down. Policy making was erratic. over the working people. Donors ruled the roost. To be sure, Thus were created almost text- in this climate civil society elite book conditions for the rise of a Finding a successor to Mkapa and opposition parties enjoyed a Bonaparte, in this case, a messianic proved to be contentious. Jakaya measure of freedom which they had Bonaparte. By the time of the fifth Kikwete and his friend Edward not experienced before but all that president, the post-Nyerere presi- Lowassa, the party’s two leading was at the expense of the masses dents had abandoned the country’s cadres, had built a strong base in who continued to sink deeper and cementing ideology, the Arusha the party’s youth wing. They had deeper into poverty and hopeless- Declaration. What was left of it waited in the wings to bid for the ness. The party lost credibility, so was smashed to smithereens by the presidency at the opportune time. much so that when the time came onslaught of neo-liberalism. The Through fair and foul means, aid- for general elections it could not be ideological vacuum thus created ed by some manipulation of party sure of getting elected. Day by day, was filled with narrow national- rules by the then party chairman the opposition gained in popularity ism and religious dogmas includ- Mkapa, the Kikwete-Lowassa as it exposed the scandals and cor- ing religious salutations at political duo managed to keep out another ruption of CCM politicians. meetings and rallies in what was strong contender, Salim Ahmed constitutionally a secular state. Salim. Kikwete got the party’s Within the party, the person nomination, subsequently winning believed to be the strongest con- The messianic variant of civilian the presidency with a handsome tender for presidency was Edward Bonapartism best describes the majority. He lost no time in mak- Lowassa. He had both political Magufuli phenomenon. Messianic ing his friend Lowassa his Prime and financial clout but no - pur Bonapartism rules by fiat of the Minister and one of their business- chase on political probity. He had leader. It legitimises its rule not man friends – who was widely be- cleverly put in place his people only by material measures in the lieved to play king maker behind in vital party organs. Succession interest of the down-trodden or op- the scenes – treasurer of the party. to Kikwete was ridden with fac- pressed (called wanyonge in Tan- Eventually, the two friends fell out tional struggles, so much so that zania) but also by metaphysical ap- and Lowassa had to resign as Prime when finally Lowassa lost out on peals. The late President Magufuli Minister. Be that as it may, the nomination in the Central Com- used both in good measure. One of party had become fractionalised mittee, his faction in the Commit- the most significant collateral dam- and mired in factional struggles. tee came out openly questioning ages of messianism is that account- With no coherent ideology like the the Central Committee’s decision. ability of the top leader disappears Arusha Declaration, the factions while their subordinates become, were not held together by any ide- As we have seen, the ruling party if at all, accountable to one person ology or political programme but and its leaders had been so much at the top. Politics are submerged by sheer ambition to power and maligned and marred by allega- in the personality of the president. through power the ability to access tions of corruption that it had to Patriotism is defined and measured the state largesse. nominate for the presidency a per- by one’s loyalty to the president. son who was not identifiable with Any critique of the president is la- The ten years of Kikwete rule were the party and its heavy weights, a belled unpatriotic or anti-national, one of the most laissez faire peri- relatively clean person. That per- the term widely used by Hindutva ods in the country’s history. The son was , until then BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) in In- neo-liberal chickens came home a non-entity. In the elections, Ma- dia. Messianic Bonapartism shares to roost. Scandals abounded, there gufuli got the lowest vote ever (58 some characteristics of the absolute was unchecked embezzlement of per cent). Lowassa, having moved monarchies of Europe. Absolute public funds, some politicians in to the opposition, scored nearly 40 monarchs derived their legitimacy collusion with businessmen went per cent. The opposition also won a and authority from God, not from on an accumulation spree, corrup- significant number of seats in Par- the people. And so-called good ab- tion mounted. The party was side- liament. As we shall see, Magufuli solute monarchs were those who lined. Kikwete did not have pur- never forgave the opposition for bestowed their largesse on their chase on party meetings. The party their relative success. subjects. President Magufuli did and the government lost any sem- CODESRIA Bulletin Online, No. 13, June 2021 Page 5 not flinch in giving cash gifts to maa, socialism. His refrain and While some of the mega-projects well-performing functionaries or rhetoric was maendeleo (develop- (like the SGR) undoubtedly made leading an on-the-spot collection ment), kutanguliza Mungu (putting developmental sense, others were of funds for a complaining widow God first) and uzalendo (patrio- controversial given their possible or a mama Ntilie. Such publicity tism). For him, ‘development’ was medium- and long-term ecological stunts no doubt endeared the presi- non-partisan; ‘development’ was effects. The Stigler’s Gorge -proj dent to the masses, notwithstand- above politics, above ideology and ect and others (like buying eight ing the fact that the impact of these above all -isms. airbuses and the Tanzanite bridge acts was fleeting. across the sea) could very well He was the first president who prove to be white elephants. While On many levels Magufuli scored a was able, in five years, to accom- Magufuli lived, no one dared to first in the political history of the plish major undertakings which his challenge or contradict him. One country. He was the first president predecessors had failed to do over consulting geologist from the Uni- of the country since independence decades. He moved the capital to versity of Dar es Salaam who gave 50 years ago who was not a party , a project that had been an adverse report on the feasibility veteran or a cadre. Unlike his pre- conceived and planned by Nyer- of the Stigler’s Gorge project was decessors, he was not brought up ere. He embarked on a gigantic hy- roundly condemned by the presi- in the party. He was nowhere close droelectric project across Stigler’s dent in public before his peers for to the first- or second-generation Gorge. He initiated the building of being unpatriotic. nationalists. In his ministerial port- the over-2000km-long Standard folios under the third president, Gauge Railway (SGR) from Dar He was the first president who Mkapa, and later under the fourth es Salaam to Mwanza and further made meaningful and far-reaching president, Kikwete, he was better west. He built many miles of tar- decisions like abolishing primary known for his close supervision mac roads across the country. He and secondary school fees, order- of infrastructure projects than for would invariably quote a string ing the building of classrooms his political acumen or ideological of statistics from memory of the and buying of desks, extending leanings. He got things done, which length of roads built, the number of health insurance coverage at a earned him the nickname ‘bulldoz- dispensaries, hospitals, schools and cheap premium to almost one-third er’. He was more of a supervisor factories constructed under him. of the population, issuing street than a leader. As a president, he Whether these figures represented vendors and kiosk-owners with never travelled outside the country the whole truth on the ground, no identity cards at twenty thousand except to nearby African countries. one could tell, and those who could Tanzanian shillings which would He did not attend a single United kept quiet for fear of contradicting legitimise their occupation and free Nations General Assembly or an the all-powerful and unpredictable them from constant harassment by African Union Summit. He had leader. As a matter of fact, during city police and militia. A number little appreciation of international Magufuli’s time the Statistics Act of times he cancelled state celebra- geo-politics. Although described of 2015 was amended to make it a tions like independence-day and as a Pan-Africanist after his death, crime punishable by a fine of ten redirected the money thus saved to he showed little understanding of million shillings or three years im- infrastructural and health projects. the history or politics of Pan-Afri- prisonment or both ‘to disseminate These and other populist moves, canism. He saw regional organisa- or otherwise communicate to the some impactful and others inflated tions like the East African Com- public any statistical information out of proportion, endeared him to munity (EAC) or Southern African which is intended to invalidate, wanyonge and earned him the title Development Community (SADC) distort or discredit official statis- ‘people’s president’, ‘man of the as vehicles to enhance Tanzania’s tics’ (section 24B). A year later the people’ and many other accolades trade and economic benefits rather amendment was repealed follow- generously bestowed on him by than as the political building blocks ing pressure from local NGOs but courtiers and praise-singers. of Pan-Africanism. Although he not until the World Bank issued a rhetorically used the term ubeberu statement showing its concern with Magufuli’s populist measures were (imperialism), it is doubtful if he the amendments and ending with not without contradictions. For in- ever understood it as a system. He a threat to withdraw its financial stance, he barred pregnant school hardly ever talked about ubepari support to the strengthening of the girls from education on the grounds (capitalism) or for that matter uja- national statistics system.1 of patriarchal morality which typi- CODESRIA Bulletin Online, No. 13, June 2021 Page 6 cally blames the victim. Use of mi- such offences as tax evasion and veiled instructions to the head of sogynistic language was legendary use of illegal fishing nets. The law the judiciary and the legislature. with him. He unabashedly made was generously used by the pros- The speech would end with his oft- remarks on the skin colour and fig- ecution to incarcerate critical jour- repeated refrain that he would not ures of young female functionaries nalists and commentators. A few flinch from speaking the truth for in his government. Yet hardly any such cases were sufficient to strike those who tell the truth are the be- local gender lobby could dare call fear in the rest, including critical loved of God. him out. While he made primary intellectuals and academics. Once and secondary education ‘free’, famous as a site of critical debates Under President Magufuli’s watch the loan instalment payments by and discussions, the University of the country for the first time -wit university graduates was doubled, Dar es Salaam became an intel- nessed disappearances and kidnap- leaving little from their salaries for lectual desert with its faculty tight pings whose perpetrators remain their upkeep. lipped in the face of momentous unknown to this day. The perpe- happenings outside the campus. To trators, we are told, were ‘watu He had little respect for the consti- be fair, Magufuli could not be solely wasiojulikana’ (unknown people). tution or law. He did not even pay blamed for this as the trend had al- During his reign a wealthy busi- lip service to the rule of law and ready set in in the previous decade. nessman was mysteriously kid- breached law and the constitution One of the major collateral damages napped and as mysteriously reap- at will. He fired and humiliated se- of neo-liberalisation of the universi- peared after 10 days. To this day nior civil servants in public meetings ty and marketisation of its scholars it is not known what the motive contrary to public service regulations was the emaciation of the critical in- was, who did it and what was the and without proper investigation of tellectual content of university life. deal between the perpetrators and their alleged misdeeds. While this But that is a subject on its own and the victim’s wealthy family that to some extent restored discipline in is best left for another day. led to his release. The business- the civil service, it was a discipline man incredibly claimed a year born of fear resulting in his ministers Under Magufuli’s presidency, the later that no ransom money had and civil servants shying away from executive branch of the govern- been paid (https://www.bbc.com/ making decisions. ment became predominant riding news/world-africa-50235322). An rough-shod over other branches. outspoken, high-profile, if some- During President Magufuli’s reign During his presidency, it would what erratic, leader of the opposi- some of the most draconian pieces require a leap of imagination to tion party was shot at in broad day of legislation were passed, pro- believe that the country had sepa- light by the occupants of a trailing pelled by his compliant Attorney ration of powers. Mundane state land cruiser. Sixteen bullets were General. Public interest litigation functions like swearing in ceremo- pumped into his body. Thank- (founded on article 26 of the coun- nies became grand functions at the fully he survived, after dozens of try’s Constitution), under which a state house with live TV coverage. surgeries performed on him in a number of constitutional petitions Invariably, the Speaker of the Na- foreign country, but the agony and were filed challenging some laws tional Assembly, the Chief Justice, the traumatic experience that he and Magufuli’s public appoint- commanders of the army and the and his family and his admirers ments, was abolished. A few vo- police would be present seated in went through was inhuman and im- cal lawyers conducting such cases the front row with all their regalia. measurable. To date the perpetra- were taken before the Advocates During such functions, which were tors have not been arrested or sent Committee for disciplinary action. essentially executive functions, the before a court of law, nor does any One of them, who had appeared in Speaker and Chief Justice would one know if the police are continu- a case in which the credentials of be invited to speak assuring the ing the investigation or if the file the Attorney General himself were president of their loyalty and re- has been conveniently closed. questioned, was struck off the roll iterating their admiration for him. of advocates. At the time of writ- His speech would come at the end. Soon after coming to power on a ing her appeal is pending before In a long-winded rambling mono- slim majority, by Tanzanian stan- the High Court. logue, he would harangue, humili- dards, of 58 per cent President Ma- gufuli lost no time in coming down The list of unbailable offences un- ate and even reprimand his minis- ters and other public officials. The heavily on opposition parties. Po- der the notorious Money Launder- litical rallies were banned, oppo- ing Act was extended to cover even president would often give thinly CODESRIA Bulletin Online, No. 13, June 2021 Page 7 sition leaders were harassed, and tional gold company Barrick Gold. providing for dispute settlement by slapped with all kinds of charges And he did it in his own spectacu- outside bodies could be considered which kept them in court or pris- lar fashion. He stopped containers a great advance since most of these ons most of the time. Civil society full of mineral sand to be exported agreements invariably provide for organisations and NGOs fared no by Acacia, a subsidiary of Barrick, international arbitration of dis- better. Funded by foreign agencies, for smelting. He formed a local putes. Research has to be done to some of them dubious, and having team of experts to investigate the establish if this provision has been no constituency or agenda of their mineral content of the sand. Simul- observed in practice. My hunch is own, NGOs were most vulnerable. taneously, the Tanzania Revenue that it has not. Extreme controls were imposed on Authority slapped on it a huge them. Some of them found their bill of unpaid taxes amounting to The president also boldly moved bank accounts closed while others USD190 billion. As expected, the against grand corruption. A num- were subjected to all kinds of de- expert team found that the sand ber of high-profile, and hitherto mands from revenue authorities. contained a variety of minerals untouchable, business people per- costing billions of shillings. The ceived to be corrupt were charged As might be expected, print and long and short of the story is that with unbailable offences. A few electronic media bore the brunt Barrick Gold had to send its chief bought back their freedom through of repression. While public media executives to Tanzania to negotiate plea-bargaining; some are still rot- joined the praise-singing choir, pri- with the government, bypassing ting in jail. The former Vice-Presi- vate media too fell in line to protect the Acacia management. Eventu- dent of Acacia Deo Mwanyika was their businesses and profits. Fear- ally the parties struck a deal under charged with money laundering ing closure or being slapped with which Barrick would pay USD300 for alleged tax evasion soon af- heavy fines by the regulatory agen- million in settlement of the tax dis- ter retirement from the company. cy (TCRA) for smallest of infrac- pute and give Tanzania a 16 per Eventually he bought his freedom tions (which were not unknown), cent stake in a new company, Twi- by way of a plea-bargaining agree- the media avoided controversial ga Minerals, which would operate ment coughing up millions of shil- stories and investigative reporting. Barrick’s three mines. Meanwhile, lings. (indeed many others charged A couple of critical newspapers the ban on export of mineral sand similarly had to agree to pay hand- and online TV channels were ei- was lifted. Details and the small some sums of money to get back ther banned or starved of advertise- print of the agreement were never their freedom.) Ironically, he was ments. They went under. made public. It is not clear if the nominated by Magufuli’s party to promises made have been fulfilled. stand for Parliament in the 2020 Ironically while the mainstream elections which he duly won. A media was undergoing censure, In the same vein, a progressive well-known businessmen who had a mysterious media mini-tycoon piece of legislation called Natural been charged under the money emerged on the scene like a phoe- Wealth and Resources (Permanent laundering law for allegedly avoid- nix. He owned a couple of newspa- Sovereignty) Act was passed in ing taxes died in remand custody. pers and TV Online (an Online TV 2017. While the law recognises the channel). His newspapers defamed sovereign ownership of the people In the 2020 general election Ma- prominent people, even party stal- of natural resources, they are le- gufuli won by a landslide, getting warts, without let or hindrance. He gally vested in the president who an unprecedented 84 per cent while abused and poured verbal venom holds the same in trust. Most of its the ruling party won all parliamen- on Magufuli’s critics and perceived provisions, including this one, are tary seats except a couple. Oppo- opponents and enemies. He had no really hortatory in that they can- sition parties cried foul but theirs respect for professionalism or ethics. not be easily enforced in a court of was a voice in the wilderness. For No disciplinary action has ever been law. Nonetheless, the law did send the first time since the general taken against him either by regula- a strong message that at least in elections began in the country in tory bodies or media watchdogs. theory the Tanzanian government 1965, no election petitions were would not tolerate any exploitation filed. It was a telling comment on Arguably the measure which was the 2020 General Elections under most important in making Magu- of its natural resources which had no benefit to the people of Tanza- President Magufuli’s watch. It was fuli known on the continent was also a veiled pointer to the loss of his bold taking on of the multina- nia. One provision which forbade any international agreement from people’s trust in the impartiality of the judiciary. CODESRIA Bulletin Online, No. 13, June 2021 Page 8

Within two or so years of Magu- mutually reinforcing. The presi- him back into his car. To this day fuli’s rule the civil and political dent had no such vision and it is no one has been held accountable space virtually disappeared. Se- doubtful if he sought any advice or for that roguish behaviour. Eventu- lected disappearances, court cases accepted it if given. ally he too asked for forgiveness against perceived opponents and and was duly forgiven. closure or fining of media – both The president also became the print and electronic – instilled chairman of the party, in terms of The new chairman of the party ap- fear, uncertainty and hopelessness the convention established by the pointed a young person from the even in outspoken academic crit- first phase government. Nyerere University of Dar es Salaam with ics. Magufuli shrewdly dangled believed, not without reason, that progressive credentials as Secre- carrots in front of academics by the Tanzanian polity was not ready tary General of the party. Another appointing a significant number of for the separation of the state presi- young person with no political or professors and PhDs to his cabinet dent and the party chairman. The ideological credentials to speak and top public service positions party was brought up and bred on of except vituperous outpourings thus denuding the university of its centralisation of power. Under Ma- became the ideology and public- most senior faculty. The remain- gufuli’s chairmanship, party organs ity secretary of the party. None of ing joined the queue hoping to like the Central Committee and them had an independent base ei- be picked up in the next round of NEC were slimmed down in terms ther in the party or outside. They presidential appointments. of numbers and filled with loyal- became the public image of the ists. The old guard of the party was party in the shadow of the chair- The country had never before ex- weeded out. Two former Secretary man to whom they were eternally perienced such an intense percep- Generals of the party and the for- beholden. tion of repression. Critics were eign minister in Kikwete’s govern- subdued. Some leading opposi- ment with presidential ambitions The passing of the president tion politicians were ‘bought’ off were hounded, defamed and re- The framers of 1977 Constitution with political positions. Overnight lentlessly humiliated in the media (as amended) wisely provided for they crossed the aisle becoming owned by the new kid on the block the contingency of the death of an flag-waving members of the- rul (see above). No action was taken incumbent president. In case of ing party. Meanwhile, the populist against the mini media tycoon. In- such eventuality the vice-president rhetoric coupled with promises of stead, the victims of his defama- would take over for the remaining beneficial material improvement tion campaign were subjected to the term of the deceased president. for the wanyonge – free education, disciplinary measures. One was This provision was not well known health insurance, relative disci- reprimanded, another was sus- even to constitutional lawyers and pline in delivery of public services pended and put under watch while had certainly not featured in pub- and well-publicised action against the former foreign minister was ex- lic discussions on the constitution. notorious businesspeople for cor- pelled. Eventually, all but the lat- This was so partly because there ruption, tax evasion, drug busi- ter asked for forgiveness and were had never been such an occurrence ness etc – garnered support of the duly forgiven. A similar dose of but mainly because this provision masses behind the president. The medicine was administered on one was new, having been introduced president’s unrelenting industriali- of the very vocal cadres of CCM in one of a spate of constitutional sation drive, albeit unplanned and who had campaigned vigorously amendments following the intro- incoherent, gave jobless youth the for Magufuli in the 2015 election. duction of multi-party in 1992. In the hope of employment. In the event, He was appointed minister for in- Eighth Constitutional Amendment, whatever new industrial plants formation in the Magufuli cabinet. the framers borrowed the system were put up they made little dent He dared to cross swords with one of a running-mate from the United on unemployment figures. In itself of Magufuli’s favourite regional States. Together with this, the fram- the idea of industrialisation had commissioners which earned him ers took over almost lock, stock and a lot to commend it but for it to a revocation of his appointment as barrel the American provision on make developmental sense it had a minister. When he tried to hold succession in case of the death of an to be coherent and consistent with a press conference to explain his incumbent president (25th Amend- a broad vision of building a nation- side of the story at a city hotel, he ment to the US Constitution). Article ally integrated economy in which was confronted by a plain-clothes 37(5) of the 1977 Constitution stipu- industry and agriculture would be pistol-wielding person who forced lated that in case of, among other CODESRIA Bulletin Online, No. 13, June 2021 Page 9 things, the death of the incumbent, Glimpses into the future vengeance. In which case, whatev- the vice-president should be sworn er goodwill the president may have in to be the president. It is too early to say the direction generated will quickly evaporate. that the new regime will take under After the announcement of the president Samia Suluhu Hassan. One major lesson to draw from the death of the president it took almost To be sure, it is likely to be a little Magufuli phenomenon is that our 60 hours before the vice-president more liberal politically and eco- polities in the periphery remain was sworn in.2 A few legal com- nomically and a little less heavy fragile and masses disorganised. mentators opined that there was on invoking rhetorical invectives Therefore our polities are vulner- a lacuna (gap) in the constitution against western governments. In able and amenable to the rise of which did not provide the time- changing the symbolic saluta- narrow nationalists and populists frame within which the vice-pres- tion from religious to secular, the on the one hand, and rampant neo- ident had to be sworn in. One legal president will probably adhere to liberals on the other. Under the cir- expert who has attained a kind of the secular tradition of the coun- cumstances, organisation-building celebrity status for conducting pub- try. She is likely to open up to the remains foremost on the working lic interest litigation even opined outside world. The extent of open- peoples’ agenda. The politics of that it would be imprudent to swear ing up will determine whether her class struggle have to transit from in the succeeding president while government draws in the laissez spontaneity to organisation just as the body of the late president had faire elements of the fourth phase committed left intellectuals have to not yet been interred. One does not government or remains within the transit from being public to organic have to be a constitutional expert parameters of national interest. All intellectuals. to read the constitution in context in all, the party and the government Ultimately the working people have to conclude that the successor has which she now heads is likely to to depend on themselves rather than to be sworn in immediately, that in continue on the path of neo-lib- wait for a messiah to deliver them. fact there is no lacuna in the consti- eralism. Thus the stark choice in Hopefully the Magufuli phenom- tution. Under Tanzania’s Constitu- the immediate and medium-term enon would have taught progressive tion the president is the command- future is not so much between na- African intellectuals to distinguish er in chief of the armed forces with tionalism and neo-liberalism but between rhetorical anti-imperial- powers to declare war and make rather between rampant and regu- ism and systemic understanding peace, with powers to declare state lated neo-liberalism. of emergency etc. The presidency of the global capitalist-imperialist therefore cannot remain vacant for Whether or not and how far the system; between populist dema- any length of time. The practice in new president opens up the civil gogues and popular democrats; the US, from where article 37(5) space will also determine how far between mass political line and of the Tanzanian Constitution was the working people are able to or- mass evangelism; and between a lifted, has been to swear in the ganise themselves openly to defend protracted struggle of the working vice-president to become presi- their interests. There are disturbing people for liberation and emancipa- dent immediately on the confirma- signs that opportunist politicians, tion from below and short-cut mea- tion of the death of the incumbent businessmen and IFIs (Internation- sures to development and prom- president. When John F. Kennedy al Financial Institutions) are getting ises of deliverance from above. too close to the president. If they was assassinated in 1963 in the city Article received on 31st May 2021 of Dallas, Lyndon B. Johnson, his prevail, the neo-liberal path will vice-president, was sworn in with- consolidate itself. There is a fear Acknowledgements in two hours on board Air Force among more conscious elements One while it was still parked on the that some of the worst features of I am grateful to Natasha Shivji and Amil Shivji for their perceptive runway. In the event, to the relief neo-liberalism – rampant pillage of comments on the earlier drafts of many, the constitution prevailed. natural resources, reaping of mo- nopoly super profits at the expense which have saved me, hopefully, It is not clear which superior force from the pitfalls of writing on a intervened in favour of the con- of the working people, land grab- bing resulting in eviction of small subject still considered sensitive stitution. So far, the transition has in the country. The ultimate re- holders, further exacerbation of so- gone smoothly. sponsibility for errors and mis- cial inequalities and mass misery– judgements remains mine. may once again reappear with a CODESRIA Bulletin Online, No. 13, June 2021 Page 10

Notes cussions with the Government on 2. There are pointers that there was whether further support to build- some factional struggle on suc- 1. ‘The Bank has over the years ing sustainable statistical systems cession. In absence of further supported Tanzania to develop a is appropriate at this time.’ (https:// research and evidence, it would be national statistical system that ef- www.worldbank.org/en/news/ speculative to identify the factions fectively and efficiently delivers statement/2018/10/02/world-bank- involved. That there was indeed reliable and timely statistics. Given statement-on-amendments-to-tan- some force obstructing the imme- the recent Amendments to the 2015 zanias-2015-statistics-act) diate swearing in can be reason- Statistics Act, the Bank is in dis- ably inferred from the delay.